The paperl concerns internalizing and externalizing behaviors among Polish adolescents attending primary schools in a medium-sized city in Poland. The aim of the study was to examine the levels of select problem behaviors (i.e., depression, withdrawal, somatic complaints, aggressive behaviors, delinquent behaviors, thought problems, and internalizing and externalizing disorders) in early adolescence. Another important aim was to establish the ranges of the norm and deviation which would indicate the need for intervention aimed at internalizing and externalizing disorders in the sample. 

Externalizing disorders involve conduct and aggression problems, insufficiently regulated behaviors of an antisocial or oppositional-defiant nature, or behaviors which do not fit within accepted social norms. These all involve projecting internal problems experienced by the individual outwards. The basic symptoms of externalizing disorders are various manifestations of aggression, opposition against one’s surroundings, impul- sivity, destructiveness, and antisociality. Their emergence in childhood and adolescence are a significant predictor of chronic criminal behavior in adulthood (Wolańczyk, 2002). Externalizing problem behaviors such as aggression, damaging property, or stealing are among the most frequent adjustment problems in childhood and are the most reliable predictor of mental health problems in adulthood (Sanders et al., 2017). Children who exhibit externalizing behaviors may suffer a range of legal consequences which could significantly impact their future (Samek et al., 2014). High occurrence of externalizing disorders (Achenbach, 1982) may be a source of social maladjustment. 

Internalizing behaviors refer to personality problems related to inhibition, anxiety, and overcontrolled behaviors. An excessive sense of control may lead to a deep, neurotic internalization of social norms. This may be the basis of excessive cautiousness in new and subjectively difficult situations, as well as shyness during interpersonal contact. Despite average or above-average intellectual abilities, individuals with internalizing disorders do not achieve adequately high results in school (the so-called inadequate school achievement syndrome), which facilitates a sense of being underappreciated (Wysocka et al., 2014). 

The subject of the study was to diagnose the scale of occurrence of behavioral problems in early adolescence. The main research problem in the current study was conceptualized as follows: What is the scale of incidence of behavior problems in early adolescents? The following specific research questions were derived from this research problem: 1. Does gender differentiate the incidence of behavior problems among early adolescents? 2. Does age differentiate the incidence of behavior problems among early adolescents? 3. Does grade average differentiate the incidence of behavior problems among early adolescents? The first aim of the study was to assess the levels of problem behaviors in early adolescence in specific areas, such as anxiety and depression, withdrawal, somatic com- plaints, aggressive behaviors, delinquent behaviors, social problems, thought problems, attention problems, and internalizing and externalizing. Regarding the last two areas, it was important to diagnose the normal score range, the cut-off point (indicating the need for psychopedagogical consultation and support), and the clinical score range (indicating the need to assess the relationships between the specific areas of problem behaviors in adolescents and specific variables such as gender, age, and grade average). Six hundred and eight students from all of the primary schools in a medium-sized (50–100 thousand citizens) Polish city took part in the study. Due to missing data in some cases, data from 550 participants were used in the analyses. The sample was created by randomly choosing one sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade class from each of the primary schools in the city. Thus, the current study involved a total of around 29% of all students from these grades. In the sample, 55.3% of the participants were girls and 46.7% were boys. To empirically verify the research problem and questions, a Polish version of the Youth Self Report questionnaire for adolescents aged 11–18, devised by T. Achenbach, adapted by T. Wolańczyk was used. The YSR is comprised of 112 items, and it measures problem behaviors on eight scales: I—Withdrawal, II—Somatic Complaints, III—Anxiety and Depression, IV—Social Problems, V—Thought Problems, VI—Attention Problems, VII—Delinquent Problems, and VII—Aggressive Behaviors. The total score for the internalizing behaviors scale is obtained by appropriately summing the scores of scales I, II, and III and subtracting the score of Item 103. On the other hand, the total score for the externalizing behaviors scale is obtained by summing the scores of scales VII and VIII.

One of the most important finding of our research is that the proportion of girls who achieved scores in the clinical range was higher than the proportion of boys. The greatest differences were identified for thought problems, in which 33.9% of girls achieved scores in the clinical range compared to 7.4% of boys. According to the cognitive-behavioral model, cognitive distortions lead to inaccuracies and distortions in perceiving and processing data from the surrounding environment. This may lead to inadequate emotional reactions and contextually inappropriate perceptions of behavior. Another troubling conclusion relates to the anxiety and depression scale, on which 30.7% of the girls and 2.7% of the boys in the sample achieved scores in the clinical range. A similar tendency towards higher levels of such emotional problems among girls than boys. A detailed analysis of the results showed that older students—that is, 13- and 14-year-olds—exhibited higher levels of withdrawal than 12-year-olds (p < 0.001). Younger children (12-year-olds) exhibited lower levels of somatic complaints than 13-year-olds (p = 0.008) and 14-year-olds (p < 0.001). Analogous differences occurred for anxiety and depression. The youngest children in the sample also exhibited lower levels of attention problems than 13- and 14-year-olds (p < 0.001). Analogous differences were observed for delinquent behaviors—12-year-old students exhibited lower levels of delinquent behaviors than did older students, including both 13- and 14-year-olds (p < 0.001). The analysis showed statistically significant intergroup differences, based on grade average, in attention problems, delinquent behaviors, aggressive behaviors, and externalizing disorders

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